Monday, May 13, 2013

Seeing a CHIROPRACTOR FIRST reduces the odds of surgery!!!

A recent study that was published in Spine Journal validates what Chiropractors have been saying for years.

Basically the study states that if you see a Surgeon first your odds of having a surgery are almost 43%, where those that started with Chiropractic care where very unlikely to have a spine surgery.

* 1.5% of those who saw a CHIROPRACTOR FIRST had surgery.

* 42.7% of those who saw a SURGEON FIRST had surgery.

I have been practicing Chiropractic care in NYC for over 15 years and out of the hundreds and maybe thousands of patients that I have seen I can count on one hand the number of patients that needed back surgery.

On the other hand I have seen countless patients that have had a back surgery only to come in with similar complaints.

I have been working with patients from around the world that suffer with herniated discs, Sciatica and Failed back surgery syndrome. Utilizing the DRX system I attract patients that are considering back surgery and almost all of them never get cut.

There is a time and place for Back surgery but it is my opinion that it is overutilized.

A good Surgeon will only take patients that have exhausted on non-surgical methods first, but I have seen patients over the years that went straight to the spine surgeon and were scared into a invasive procedure only to regret it later.

Once you are cut your body also has to heal the surgeons cut and most of the time the anatomy is altered and changes the biomechanics of the area forever.

If you are suffering with back pain or leg pain and have had a MRI I am offering a no-charge consultation to discuss MRI findings.

Early Predictors of Lumbar Spine Surgery After Occupational Back Injury: Results From a Prospective Study of Workers in Washington State

Abstract

Study Design. Prospective population-based cohort study.

Objective. To identify early predictors of lumbar spine surgery within 3 years after occupational back injury.

Summary of Background Data. Back injuries are the most prevalent occupational injury in the United States. Few prospective studies have examined early predictors of spine surgery after work-related back injury.

Methods. Using Disability Risk Identification Study Cohort (D-RISC) data, we examined the early predictors of lumbar spine surgery within 3 years among Washington State workers, with new workers compensation temporary total disability claims for back injuries. Baseline measures included worker-reported measures obtained approximately 3 weeks after claim submission. We used medical bill data to determine whether participants underwent surgery, covered by the claim, within 3 years. Baseline predictors (P < 0.10) of surgery in bivariate analyses were included in a multivariate logistic regression model predicting lumbar spine surgery. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the model was used to determine the model's ability to identify correctly workers who underwent surgery.

Results. In the D-RISC sample of 1885 workers, 174 (9.2%) had a lumbar spine surgery within 3 years. Baseline variables associated with surgery (P < 0.05) in the multivariate model included higher Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire scores, greater injury severity, and surgeon as first provider seen for the injury. Reduced odds of surgery were observed for those younger than 35 years, females, Hispanics, and those whose first provider was a chiropractor. Approximately 42.7% of workers who first saw a surgeon had surgery, in contrast to only 1.5% of those who saw a chiropractor. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the multivariate model was 0.93 (95% confidence interval, 0.92–0.95), indicating excellent ability to discriminate between workers who would versus would not have surgery.

Conclusion. Baseline variables in multiple domains predicted lumbar spine surgery. There was a very strong association between surgery and first provider seen for the injury even after adjustment for other important variables.